The Airhead has a fairly noticeable noise floor (especially with Etys, not sure about the Grados); I hear the Total has better battery life and in general better components than the Airhead, which I believe is now discontinued. The general consensus seems to be the TA is well worth the extra $60, though I am pretty happy with my Airhead. Both come in the same case, the TA has a big sticker on it marking the controls.